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For almost a decade now, successive governments have pinned their hopes on “Digital Pakistan” as the country’s growth engine and to help us escape our boom-and-bust cycles. The phrase is casually thrown around at every conference and op-ed, including the latest budget speech by the finance minister.
Before we get into what’s all in store for the upcoming year, let’s pause for a second and define the digital economy. Frankly, it’s not an easy task, let alone in Pakistan, where the statistical and data infrastructure was largely designed decades ago and has barely evolved since, barring a few exceptions. The best, albeit complicated, way to think about it is as a cross-cutting theme spanning sectors and functions, from infrastructure to service delivery.
At the bottom are the enablers: the telecom networks and fibre as enterprise infrastructure, plus mobile and computer accessories as hardware. Sitting on top of that are the earners: the tech or tech-enabled firms, such as software houses or e-commerce platforms, plus freelancers and content creators. Cutting across all of it is the consumption layer: the citizen buys something on Daraz, using InDrive, etc.
